SJEllis Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 Hello all,I've recently been getting interested in the Heaven and Earth RPG which is basically a mix of the cancelled tv shows American Gothic, Twin peaks, Brimstone, and Millenium.(my review is at http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_4213.html )Anyway, I got thinking, that if we threw away the metaplot as we are wont to do on this forum, then wouldnt it be interesting to play some normal humans who uncover the events leading up to Eruption day? More specifically, if the game was set in a tiny little kooky and weird town like Potters Lake where Michael Donighael (Divis Mal) was resident. He's bringing about N-day, but hes also struggling against unseen forces to make it all work- whether thats Aeon, the proto-psion government conspiracy or God and the Devil!It might even be possible to tie in these events with the Aberrant: Fighting Armageddon background that I wrote such that"The world is approaching the end-times as God and Satan battle for mens souls. Jesus has rebelled from his father in order to save Mankind, and he comes to the small town of Potters Lake.,,It is here that he must force shut the gates of both heaven and hell with a Great Seal, and empower man with the powers of angels and demons. Ranged against him is the forces of the Host (both celestial and infernal who seek to serve Apocalypse). The characters are Jesus' last mortal pawns, important in terms of either prophecy, location or chance. With thier help, they can fight a hidden war and bring about the Nova Age, with mankind unaware of the great Apocalypse that has just been averted!"What do people think? Or am I just too fixated on religous and eschatological themes?Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 I think it sounds awesome. I've always enjoyed playing with religious themes in rpgs. I really liked the Aberrant: Fighting Armageddon alternate setting. And you mentioned a few tv shows that I really enjoyed. It sounds like a winner from my perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted May 8, 2001 Share Posted May 8, 2001 It also brings out so many different perspectives. Shouldn't the Angels win the final battle? Has Jesus' defection altered the balance? What will happen if the PCs succeed? So much unchartered territory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 28, 2001 Share Posted June 28, 2001 Originally posted by SJEllis:Hello all,I've recently been getting interested in the Heaven and Earth RPG which is basically a mix of the cancelled tv shows American Gothic, Twin peaks, Brimstone, and Millenium.the idea of a war hidden from the mundane world is pretty good,but it is too religious.it needs some revisions. the war between heaven and hell has been fought since the dawn of time;the battlefield is earth.The aberrants begin as independent characters. they will sooner or later be approached by both sides.the question is what side will they choose.A good example of this background is the movie spawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 28, 2001 Share Posted June 28, 2001 I love(d) Brimstone and American Gothic, both had very interesting and intriguing concepts. I wish they hadn't have been cancelled, but oh well. Anyway, the religious element in gaming has always been kinda shaky for myself. It's really hard to put rules and definitions of any sort onto spiritual matters. People can get very personally involved and it could get out of hand. I know it has potential for some really exciting roleplay and plot lines, but I'd just be cautious how to approach it all. Better to sort of leave a lot of things vague, I suppose. Just my personal thoughts, here.In a lot of respects, Wraith is very close to this, isn't it? On a spiritual side, more or less, than anything. Trying to find the answers and destination for the soul, questions of good and evil in the eternal sense, etc.Jager's right though, it really opens a Pandora's box of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJEllis Posted July 1, 2001 Author Share Posted July 1, 2001 This does lead to a wider question- how many of us have just used the 'baseline' ection of the character gen rules and created a campaign pre-Galatea? A conspiracy game intricately tied into the events of 1998 and the hidden powers who birthed the nova race? (Was it Mal alone? Space aliens? divine intervention? Government genetic experimentation? Atomic accidents?) And because its only fair, perhaps one or two of the PC's get to erupt on N-day....As for religious or eschatological themes in games, I dont think there is a problem with using the themes themselves altough occasionally rules can be a problem. (who beats who in a fight- Satan or Archangel Michael. Is Allah the better interpretation of a supreme deity or the Christian God? Can the Devil ever successfully oppose an omnipotent God?)I had to think about a few of these problems when writing Ab:FA and it can be a logical mess. One guy over on RPG.net even pointed out that the Great Seal would prevent human souls migrating from Heaven to Earth and incarnating new babies. He was right that it was a logical contradiction, but I was able to think up 5 or so ways around it such as having a 'reserve' of souls already on the earth, the possibility of amoral 'soulless' 10 year old kids, the mixing of the parents souls to create a new one at the moment of conception, or intervention by God or the Devil to maintain the 'playing pieces' of the great struggle between Good and Evil.But basically, what could be more exciting or interesting than having a game where the Players get to stop the apocalypse and confront their Creator? The drama is all the license we GM's need to write such campaigns.Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted July 1, 2001 Share Posted July 1, 2001 Actually, the simple fact that only one or two of the team erupted on N-day would make for interesting group dynamics. Something I would like to see played out. Sadly, my game is on hiatus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJEllis Posted July 1, 2001 Author Share Posted July 1, 2001 A dynamic were only 1 or 2 of the group erupted on N-day would be interesting. It might also prove fatal to the gaming group depending on the personalities involved.After all, if the GM simply decides who the lucky characters are, then charges of favouritism can be made. If rolled randomly and openly, then inappropriate (munchkin) players may ruin the game for others.I also wonder how the characters would progress. Would the group be able to stay together or would the amazing abilities of the novas simply render the rest of the characters obsolete?Would the non-novas seek areas of speciality to compensate for their lack of Quantum? Would they become the new Mazarin and Rashouds as they explain whats happening to their nova buddy? Would they become jealous enough to setup or sell out the novas? What happens when a crowd of N! reporters rush past them and interview their nova companinion, treating them as little more than lackeys?Its possible that the non-novas might become Brusce Wayne or Lois Lane types- humans who either act like superheroes or have a relation ship with them.But somehow I doubt it. I would expect players to resolve their characters outstanding plot points and then ask to generate new nova characters so they can save the world with the rest of the nova-kind.Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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